Kaala's first song Semma Weightu is no ordinary Rajinikanth number; infusion of rap makes this an interesting track

Dhanush released the first track from the much-awaited Kaala album and it is unlike any other tune that we have seen pictured on the superstar Rajinikanth. The song seems to have a rap twist for Thailavar and doesn’t follow the pattern of his usual upbeat introduction songs. Called ‘Semma Weightu’, the track composed by Santosh Narayanan has Hariharasudhan and Santhosh on vocals and a range of artists like Arunraja Kamaraj, Dopeadelicz, Logan, MC Mawali, Dope Daddy and others on it. ‘Semma Weightu’ brings together an ensemble of artists and is an apt mix of rap and bass. The first song from the Kaala jukebox is infused with multiple layers. There is plenty of rap, beat boxing, Tamil lyrics and roar. The whole song is like a tongue twister, quite difficult to hum like other Rajinikanth movie songs, but the chorus ‘Semma Weightu, Namma Kaala Saeetu’ is quite catchy and tailormade to project Rajini’s gangster image in the action drama. With several references to Dharavi and other areas that Rajini as Kaala appears in in the film, ‘Semma Weightu’ has Rajinikanth’s ‘gethu’ factor. It talks about unity, power, violence and the many sentiments associated with urban areas. The track definitely takes a while to kick into your system, as it is unexpected in this album to say the least. Keeping in mind that Santhosh Narayanan has composed the music, after giving the electrifying Kabali album with cult tracks like ‘Neruppu Da’, expectations were pretty much the same for this playlist too. However the composer chooses the rap route this time and gives a new image to the superstar with this rather subtle score. Yes, ‘Semma Weightu’ is full of praises and whistle-worthy lyrics, but is also the much subtler, sharp and sleek rap version of the otherwise roaring and fast beat tracks. It is a very interesting attempt by the commercial composer and team. Having said that, a little bit of the roar remains though, getting us a bit nostalgic about ‘Neruppu Da’. For those of you who are not fans of rap, ‘Semma Weightu’ might still manage to get into your ‘worth listening to’ list, for one thing remains constant even in this - The Rajini Factor.

The Hindi and Telugu versions of the song - ‘Bahut Bhaari Hai’ and ‘Yama Greatu’ too are now out. Kaala is a drama about a gangster in Dharavi, and about his rise and fall. The film brings together the Kabali team yet again and is presented by Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films and Lyca Productions. Kaala also stars Huma Qureshi, Eswari Rao, Nana Patekar in supporting roles. The entire Kaala album is slated to be out 9 May, while the film is all set to release on 7 June. Kaala has also been high on trends for clashing with Salman Khan’s Eid release - Race 3.